'I went after it and just let myself be Shane Lowry'
Shane Lowry produced the very best version of himself to survive the longest day in Amgen Irish Open history and thrust himself into contention at Trump Doonbeg,
The 2009 champion was super-focused and aggressive over the course of a marathon six-hour-plus round, carding a three-under 67 that left him tied for second when play was suspended due to darkness.
Seeking his first individual win since the BMW PGA nearly four years ago, Lowry was thrilled to see his experience and hard work pay off.
“I build weeks like this up a lot in my head, especially, and I feel like I did a good job of going after it today,” said the Clara man, who was just two shots behind Chile’s Joaquin Niemann, who shot a brilliant 65.
“That's what I did. I went out, and I tried to just be somewhat aggressive, but be myself and allow myself to hit the shots, allow myself to make the mistakes, and allow myself to just be Shane Lowry.
"I think the new Shane Lowry is better than the old Shane Lowry. But you need to play with a lot of feel and a lot of art... I felt like I allowed myself to do that today.
"I played a lot of golf this year, probably overgolfed myself in the middle of the season. But I'm here now at the Irish Open and I feel great.”
Winds gusting to 30 mph, lost balls, and lengthy rulings coupled with the difficulty of a one-tee start led to massive delays in play for the entire field.
“Me and Jon [Rahm] and Patrick [Reed], we talked about this on the eighth tee. We hit two full shots in an hour out there —the drive on six and the tee shot on seven in a full hour. So that's hard to do, especially when you're here at 40!
"You just have to keep going. It’s the same for everyone. There's no point whining about it. You just move on.”
After going to the turn in two-under par, Lowry birdied the short 11th and parred his way home in gathering darkness,
“I felt like I did a solid job of making pars and trying to get to the clubhouse as quick as I could,” he said. “I honestly didn't think we were going to get finished.
“That's probably the longest round of golf I ever played, in a three-ball anyway. I'm happy with my score.”
Tom McKibbin was tied for seventh after a 68, while Rory McIlroy was pleased with a 69 after bunker trouble led to a double bogey at the 13th,
“Look, I hung in there, shot under par, and at least don't feel like I'm out of the tournament,” he said. “A good day tomorrow gets me right back in it.”
